Catholic bishops voted Wednesday to ban “gender-affirming care” from Catholic hospitals in the United States, formalizing the Church’s opposition to hormonal and surgical procedures intended to change an individual’s outward appearance to resemble that of the opposite sex.
The bishops met in a Baltimore hotel to vote on revisions to the Church’s “Ethical and Religious Directives.” The group overwhelmingly voted in favor of prohibiting “gender-affirming” operations and procedures from Catholic hospitals and health care facilities, officially cementing the Church’s stance.
Previously, the Catholic Church implemented related doctrine on transgender issues and “gender-affirming care” in its 2023 “Moral Limits to the Technological Manipulation of the Human Body” directive. Wednesday’s vote formalizes the position detailed in that guidance. Notably, individual bishops must implement these directives within their respective dioceses.
“With regard to the gender ideology, I think it’s very important the church makes a strong statement here,” Bishop Robert Barron of Minnesota’s Winona-Rochester diocese said in the public discussion portion of the vote.
Often, Catholic hospitals or health centers are the only medical centers in many areas across the U.S., and according to the Catholic Health Association, one in seven people are treated every day at a Catholic hospital.
The 2023 doctrine noted that “Catholic health care services must not perform interventions, whether surgical or chemical, that aim to transform the sexual characteristics of a human body into those of the opposite sex, or take part in the development of such procedures.” The Vatican also released guidelines on “gender-affirming care” in 2024.
“Catholic providers will continue to welcome those who seek medical care from us and identify as transgender,” the Catholic Health Association said in a statement. “We will continue to treat these individuals with dignity and respect, which is consistent with Catholic social teaching and our moral obligation to serve everyone, particularly those who are marginalized.”
While proponents of “gender-affirming care” argue that it helps alleviate the psychological distress associated with gender dysphoria, particularly if administered before the onset of puberty, recent research has called into question the psychological benefits derived from such procedures. Hormonal and surgical procedures can also have negative physical side effects, such as sterilization, loss of bone density, and cardiovascular and nerve disfunction.
Also, during Wednesday’s meeting, the bishops signed a “special message” on immigration, criticizing the Trump administration’s widespread deportation program.
“We are disturbed when we see among our people a climate of fear and anxiety around questions of profiling and immigration enforcement,” the bishops’ statement reads. “We are saddened by the state of contemporary debate and the vilification of immigrants. We are concerned about the conditions in detention centers and the lack of access to pastoral care.”